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Learn how to cook this popular Penang street food known as char koay kak or fried rice cake. I’m also sharing how to make the rice cake from scratch.
What is char koay kak ?
Char means stir-fry and koay kak means cake cubes in Hokkien language. So it means cubes of cake (in this case rice cake cubes). The rice cake is cut into cubes and then stir fried with eggs, seafood, or another choice of protein, preserved turnip/chye poh, chili, dark soy sauce, soy sauce, and usually mung bean sprouts are added. It is very similar to the popular fried carrot cake (chai tow kway) in Singapore. The fried carrot cake is made with daikon instead.
Why you’ll like this recipe
1. Easy
It may seem like it’s something you spend lots of effort into, but in reality, making the rice cake from scratch is pretty easy
2. Nice texture
The rice cake has a nice bouncy texture yet firm enough for stir-frying, but not tough.
How to make steamed rice cake for char koay kak
1. Bring the water in a steamer to a boil. Wrap the lid with a cloth to prevent water condensation drips on the cake. if your steamer lid is too close to the pan and you can’t wrap a cloth without touching the pan, cover the pan with aluminum foil later after you pour the batter in.
Oil a 7 x 7 round or square tray with at least 1.5 inches in height.
While waiting, combine rice flour, tapioca starch, and salt in a pot. Stir to combine. Add water and whisk to combine until the batter is smooth
2. Put the pot on the stove and cook over low-medium heat
3. Put the pot on the stove and cook over low-medium heat. Continue to whisk until you start feeling some lumps forming at the bottom of the pot and some stuck to your whisk.
4. Turn off the heat immediately and remove from the heat and keep whisking. The batter will continue to thicken even after you remove from the heat and try to break the lumps but it’s okay if it’s not completely smooth. The batter will be lumpy (that’s ok, it will even out during steaming), and thicker but still a pourable consistency. Don’t cook until it thickens into a very thick paste or worst, a dough. The rice cake will be tough after steaming
5. Pour the batter into a prepared pan.
6. Cover the pan with aluminum foil if you can’t wrap the lid of the steamer with a cloth to prevent condensation from dripping on the surface of the cake
7. Put in the steamer and steam for 30 minutes or until the top is no longer wet and firm to touch
8. Let it cool down completely, about 5-6 hours before attempting to cut
How to make char koay kak at home
1. Cut the rice cake using a plastic bench scraper, plastic knife or an oiled knife to prevent sticking. Cut into about 1-inch cube. You can cut it bigger or smaller. It’s up to you
2. Preheat a large skillet or wok over high heat. Add 1 tbsp of oil. Add the rice cubes, in batches if necessary and let them sear until lightly golden brown on all sides, slightly charred is perfect, about 30 seconds or so on each side
3. Push the rice cake to the side. Add minced garlic ,chye poh, chili paste and stir fry for about 1 minute.
4. Mix this around with the seared rice cubes. Push the rice mixture to the side again. Add the rest of the oil and crack in the eggs and let them cook for about 10 seconds undisturbed
5. When you see the eggs start to solidify at the bottom, stir to scramble the eggs. Add seasonings and stir to mix with the rice cakes.
6. Add the sprouts and chives (I forgot to put in chives here) and stir fry for another 10-15 seconds or until the sprouts are heated through but still crunchy and not wilted
7. Turn off the heat. Dish the fried rice cake up into serving platters and serve immediately
Did you make this char koay kak recipe?
I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag to show me what you’ve made 🙂 Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!
Char Koay Kak (with Homemade Rice Cake)
Ingredients
For rice cake batter (yield about 500 grams)
- 155 gr rice flour
- 30 gr tapioca starch
- ¼ tsp salt
- 480 gr water
For stir-frying: (for about 3 servings)
- rice cake cubes
- 3 Tbsp cooking oil divided
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 Tbsp chili boh more or less to your taste
- ⅓ cup sweet radish (chye poh) minced
- 3 large eggs
- 5 stalks Chinese chives cut into 2-inch long pieces
- 3 cups bean sprouts
Seasonings (this is just for reference. Adjust to your preference):
- 2 tsp dark soy sauce see notes
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce or more as needed
- ¼ tsp sugar
- ¼ tsp ground white pepper
- Salt as needed
Instructions
Prepare the batter:
- Bring the water in a steamer to a boil. Wrap the lid with a cloth to prevent water condensation drips on the cake. If your lid is too near to the pan when you close it and you can't wrap with a cloth, cover the pan with aluminum foil later
- Oil a 7 x 7 round or square tray with at least 1.5 inches in height. While waiting, combine rice flour, tapioca starch, and salt in a pot. Stir to combine. Add water and whisk to combine until the batter is smooth
- Put the pot on the stove and cook over low-medium heat. Continue to whisk until you start feeling some lumps forming at the bottom of the pot and some stuck to your whisk. Turn off the heat immediately and remove from the heat and keep whisking. The batter will continue to thicken even after you remove from the heat and try to break the lumps but it's okay if it's not completely smooth. The batter will be lumpy (that's ok, it will even out during steaming), a bit thicker but still a pourable consistency. Don't cook until it thickens into a very thick paste or worst, a dough. The rice cake will be tough after steaming
Steaming:
- Pour the batter into a prepared pan. Cover the pan with aluminum foil if you can't wrap the lid of the steamer with a cloth to prevent condensation from dripping on the surface of the cake. Put in the steamer and steam for 30 minutes or until the top is no longer wet and firm to touch. Let it cool down completely, about 5-6 hours before attempting to cut
Stir-frying:
- Cut the rice cake using a plastic knife or an oiled knife to prevent sticking. Cut into about 1-inch cube. You can cut it bigger or smaller. It's up to you
- Preheat a large skillet or wok. Add 1 tbsp of oil. Add the rice cubes, in batches if necessary and let them sear until lightly golden brown on all sides, about 30 seconds on each side
- Push the rice cake to the side. Add minced garlic ,chye poh, chili paste and stir fry for about 1 minute. Mix this around with the seared rice cubes. Push the rice mixture to the side again. Add the rest of the oil and crack in the eggs and let them cook for about 10 seconds undisturbed. When you see the eggs start to solidify at the bottom, stir to scramble the eggs. Add seasonings and stir to mix with the rice cakes. Add the sprouts and chives and stir fry for another 10-15 seconds or until the sprouts are heated through but still crunchy and not wilted
- Turn off the heat. Dish the fried rice cake up into serving platters and serve immediately
2 comments
Made it today. Great texture, thank you very much.
Hi Judy, good to know! Thank you for the feedback 🙂